Deliverance
by dr100
Summary: With Sarah Jane and Luke in London and Rani and Clyde in Ealing, Mr Smith has a surprise in store for them.
1. Chapter 1

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Sarah was with her son Luke and in the back of a London cab leaving Ealing. It was Luke's birthday and Sarah was treating him to a surprise.<p>

"Where are we going?" he asked anticipating the evening's event. It was half past seven and slowly getting dark.

"I've told you," said Sarah, - "It's a surprise!"

"…and I told you I don't like surprises!" he protested.

"Alright," she said, as the cab swerved right. "The theatre!" she confessed.

Rani ran around to visit Clyde while Luke was out. She hit the doorbell and he answered the door.

"Rani?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," she said politely, spotting his mum some way behind him. "Luke and Sarah Jane have gone to London and I thought I'd pop by and see you!"

"Oh, I see," said Clyde, pulling the door behind him and joining Rani on the doorstep. "Well what can I do for you?"

Rani shook her head and dragged him off for a walk.

"I just thought we could catch up?" she explained.

Clyde smiled back at her and she smacked him and dragged him along.

The theatre was like the TARDIS. It was beautiful.

"I'm looking forward to this," said Luke, seated in a box high above the stage. "Thank you, mum!"

Sarah smiled and hugged her son and wished him a happy birthday.

Suddenly the actors appeared below and the performance was underway.

Meanwhile in Ealing, Rani and Clyde had adventured up to the attic having been left instructions by Sarah Jane. They were greeted by K9 as they entered.

"Mistress Rani… Master Clyde… welcome to the attic!" delivered the small robot dog.

"What was it she asked us to switch off?" muttered Clyde.

There was a sudden hiss from the brick wall in one corner of the attic.

"What was that?" whispered Clyde.

Suddenly Mr Smith appeared.

Clyde, Rani… hello!" said Mr Smith. "I have an urgent message for you!"

Clyde and Rani rushed across the attic to meet the gaze of Mr Smith.

"Okay… so tell us!" belted Rani.

"Wait," said Clyde.

He took Rani back across the attic.

"Don't you think it was a little weird Mr Smith meeting with us before either of us summoned him?"

"I can hear you!" declared Mr Smith. "The message I wish to share with you is, as I say, considered urgent."

"Ignore Clyde," mumbled Rani. "What's the message?"

"Run!" said Mr Smith.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>"What do you mean run?" asked Clyde.<p>

"There is no time Clyde, you must do as I say!"

Mr Smith was adamant.

"Come on Clyde!" belted Rani.

She dragged him from the attic when there was a terrifying explosion behind them.

"What was that?" yelled Clyde, with smoke rising from the attic behind them.

"A time bomb?" considered Rani as she searched for Clyde.

"Left for us by Sarah Jane?" they joked, after having found one another.

There was a long pause.

"No… not Sarah Jane!" they agreed.

"What about K9!" groaned Clyde.

"Do not worry about me Master Clyde," the robot dog insisted. "I cannot die."

"What about Mr Smith?" murmured Rani. "The message he left us?"

"What about it?" asked Clyde.

"He must have known!" she said.

"He cut it fine!" said Clyde.

Together they escaped the flames and rushed out into the street. There parents were there waiting for them.

Clyde and Rani hid from behind Sarah Jane's car. As both parents inspected the area, another explosion blew out the lower floor windows. They shielded their gaze and shuffled back down the drive.

Within the next ten minuets there was silence. Clyde and Rani were ready to move out when a couple of cars entered the drive.

"What's going on?" whispered Rani.

Until the cars pulled up, they saw it was in fact UNIT, and they stormed the building.

"It must be them!" mumbled Clyde. "They must have planted a bomb!"

"To kill Sarah Jane?" wondered Rani. "But why should they want her dead?"

"I've no idea," said Clyde. "I think this is what Mr Smith meant!"

"Let's get out of here!" agreed Rani.

They ran forward beyond their hiding place when an officer jumped out at them.

"Sir," he said, speaking into a small handheld device. "We have her accomplices!"

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Sarah turned to Luke and smiled as the curtain came down and the actors bowed.<p>

"Is that it?" moaned Luke.

"That's it," said Sarah. "What did you think?"

"It left me wanting more," he confessed. Smiling, he and his mum left their seats for the long journey home. Neither knew Bannerman Road was on red alert.

Rani and Clyde struggled in the grip of two Unit officers.

"We'd like to know what's going on!" she shrieked as one slammed a hand around her mouth stopping her from shouting. "Hey… you can't do that!" she protested.

"Why do you want Sarah Jane dead?" demanded Clyde. He wasn't as care free as Rani. He stood quietly waiting for an answer.

They were greeted by Group Captain Mitchell and he took a note of his prisoner's identities.

"Why should you want us too?" asked Rani. "You do realise Sarah Jane will be home soon! She'll want answers!"

"That's why we intend to leave here at once!" declared Mitchell. "Get them out of here!" he ordered.

But Rani kicked the officer aside and made a dash for the bottom of the drive. She knew that across the road, her parents stood waiting almost as if they had some idea she was connected to this crazy situation. She stood a good chance of being caught as she legged it across the lawn and down the gravel drive but she was determined.

"GO Rani!" yelled Clyde, as he too struggled in the Unit officers grasp.

"Get after her!" bellowed Mitchell.

His men pursued her but they were too late. Rani had made it across the road to her parents. The officers stood opposite but were ordered to retreat. It was too early for signs of brutality. If the bomb hadn't served its purpose, then locking up Clyde Langer was the alternative.

Rani sobbed into her mother's dress upon greeting her parents. From out the corner of her eye she saw the vehicles she saw enter the drive exit 13 Bannerman Road.

"Where's Clyde?" trembled Carla "Where's my son?"

Clyde was on his way to Unit Headquarters.

Suddenly, from further down the street, a small black mini cap appeared but was stopped by police. Sarah Jane leant out the window and saw the smoke and the flames rising from the attic from further down the road. She was stunned.

"What is it mum?" whispered Luke.

Sarah Jane exited the vehicle and ran down the middle of the road stopping just outside her home. It was cordoned off. Rani emerged at her side.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We could do nothing!"

"What are you talking about?" shrieked Sarah in sheer pain.

"It was UNIT!" whispered Rani. "UNIT did this!"

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Sarah couldn't believe her eyes, nor what Rani was telling her.<p>

_"UNIT…are you sure?"_ she mimed.

"Sarah Jane… would I say otherwise?"

Rani was as terrified as Sarah.

Luke had paid the driver of the cab and had charged down Bannerman Road to meet the gaze of him mum and Rani.

"Happy Birthday!" wished Rani.

"Yeah… thanks," said Luke, turning to his home all fiery and thick in smoke. "Am not sure if this is the right time," he grumbled.

"You're probably right," she said, turning back to Sarah Jane. "They took Clyde!" she informed her.

"NO!" she mumbled. "We must get him back!"

"Mum…" whispered Luke as Clara crossed the road to her and asked her what had happened.

"I'm not sure," she answered. "I've just got back from treating Luke to the theatre…"

"Have you seen Clyde?" she asked.

"Sorry… but no, I haven't," replied Sarah.

"Perhaps he's at the shops?" said Luke.

"I shouldn't think so Luke," said Clara.

_"He'll turn up, I'm sure,"_ Rani reassured her.

Sarah Jane stepped forward attempting to cross the red tape to her home when three police officers emerged from within and asked what it was she thought she was doing.

"This is my home!" she replied. "Of course I'm going to return to it!"

The officers shook their heads.

"We want to know why you're keeping secrets, Ms Smith!"

"Mum… what are they talking about?" murmured Luke.

"What we're talking about is the hidden stash of alien gadgets you have buried in the wreck upstairs!" said one, with his handcuffs at the ready.

"I think they must be working with UNIT!" muttered Rani.

"Or…" said Sarah, and as she said it, an officer winked among the rest. _"Or…_ they really do mean business!" she shivered.

"You're under arrest!" said another. "All of you!"

Clyde was in trouble. It was way past his bedtime and he knew his mum would be cross yet there was nothing he could say or do that would have any impact on his present situation.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, quietly and sensibly. "I have a right to know!"

His questions were ignored. But there was one thing for certain. Despite his involvement with Sarah Jane Smith, he was not to be trusted and certainly not by the British Government.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Sarah was under arrest. She was handcuffed and led into the back of a van. She was to be driven to the station.<p>

As the waved goodbye to her son and friend from the cage she was chained in she shouted out for her son to find Clyde, hinting _her being taken away had nothing to do with UNIT's involvement._

As the van sped away, Luke whispered to Rani that they had to find Clyde Langer.

"But what about mum and dad?" she said, making excuses. "They won't exactly want to see me disappear next!"

"That's why mum must have called on me to do so and not you," he said. "She must have known both your reaction and your parents!"

Rani left his side and checked the drive to find her parents waiting for her still.

"You will be careful?" she whispered. "How will you find him?"

"I'll just kick up a fuss!" he explained. "I'll demand I speak to whoever it is in charge!"

"It's late," she said, checking her watch. "I'd better go!"

Luke waved her goodbye and then he set to work. He watched as the Chandra family slipped away from the edge of the kerb, their watchful expressions saddening given the circumstances and then he darted inside the house, crossing the tape and keeping clear of the police.

There had to be something in the building that gave him some idea what was happening. He ran up the stairs to greet Mr Smith but it was no good. Mr Smith had been torn apart by the sheer force of the blast. His interface reacting like a spoilt child, crying out for attention, but Luke was unable to give it. But on his monitor, that stretched some way across the attic gave him some idea as to where Clyde had been taken.

Luke reached for the small red and blue screen and held it up to a flickering bulb dangling from the ceiling.

"What does it mean?" he mumbled.

The screen was of a map and a small red dot. Then Luke saw the tagline. It read: _Clyde Langer – tracking device enabled. _

Mr Smith had served the purpose he was installed for, to identify alien threats and put a stop to them. Him tracking Clyde was a way of dealing with a threat and knew somehow Luke would identify what was wrong and find his friend.

"I'm on it, Mr Smith!" he whispered.

He held the monitor in his hands but felt the urge to leave. Somehow the attic wasn't the same. Of course it wasn't, it had been blown to bits but nonetheless… it felt spooky, and it was then he realised if neither had been out, they'd both be dead.

Placing it back down on the wreckage, he stood up from the mess of paperwork about him. He wandered across the attic to a charred window frame. The glass had been blown out and there was still fire to be put out but from somewhere downstairs, he was sure he heard voices.

Sarah Jane had arrived at the station not long after being driven from13 Bannerman Road to discover she wasn't at the station at all but UNIT Headquarters.

"I've been fooled!" she muttered.

Turning to the officer who had winked to her before, she sighed and saw him chuckle with some delight.

_"A double bluff?"_ she went on. "I didn't expect to be fooled twice!" she remarked.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Clyde Langer was tied to a chair in a dark room.<p>

"Is there anyone there?" he called.

The last he could remember was being in the back of a car on his way to UNIT HQ. Now he was tied to a chair in disturbing surroundings.

But then he heard a voice.

"Clyde… is that you?" it whispered.

He recognised it instantly.

"Sarah Jane!" he yelled. "Where are you? What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"There's no time to explain," she said.

The room was so dark it was difficult to tell from which direction either were facing.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"They're back home," she said. "I came alone!"

"What do you mean?" he went on.

"Look," she said, somewhat annoyed. "The less we say the better. Now is not the time Clyde!"

He didn't understand.

"But…" as he tried to reason with her, another voice now having entered the dark space cut him off.

"Silence Clyde!" was the order. Clyde did well to follow it.

"Who's there?" demanded Sarah. "What do you want with us?"

"Yeah…" said Clyde. "Why are you keeping us here like this?"

"We have discovered a history you share with us, Ms Smith…"

Sarah Jane hadn't the gaze of another person to follow around the room while this absurd scenario played out so she closed her eyes and replied, - "We go back a long way, yes… but what I want to know is why you want me dead?"

"You are mistaken," was her response. "We did not wish to harm you, just your life's work!" insisted the voice.

"…and why should you want to destroy my work?" she trembled.

"Because of who you are," said the voice. "…and that makes all the difference!"

"So why involve my son, Rani and Clyde?" groaned Sarah. "Why not just come after me?"

"Because they are all involved," declared the voice. "Their involvement is the reason they are here!"

"What do you mean?" demanded Sarah.

The lights flickered and the darkness faded, and there ahead of her was Luke, Clyde, and Rani.

"Why are you doing this?" she shouted. "I want answers!"

"So do we!" insisted the officers who held Sarah, Luke, Clyde and Rani prisoners.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Sarah was puzzled. None of this made sense. Here she was, in the company of those she once worked for, never mind represented and now she was their prisoner. What she really wanted to know was why this was so?<p>

"Who do you think you are?" she shouted. Unable to stand, Sarah delivered her question unto her captor fiercely. She was neither frightened nor feeble. Sarah always stood her ground.

Mitchell ignored her. Instead he asked, - "For how long have you been watching over us?"

Afterwards he was quiet, as though exploring a tactic he'd not used until now, and then he stared at Sarah until she was willing to cooperate. Sarah shook her head and answered, - "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

It wasn't the answer Mitchell was looking for.

"You have been helping us protect planet Earth," he stated. He then turned to Rani and said, - "Is this not so?"

Rani turned her attention to Sarah before she answered. "What should I do?" she asked her.

"Tell them the truth," said Sarah. "There's no harm in it!"

Rani looked back at Mitchell. "Yes," she said. "It's what we do. We intervene when we can because no one else will. It's almost as if this planet couldn't care less if we were invaded or not. If it weren't for us," she continued, "well… who knows?"

"Quite," chuckled Mitchell. "But what I will say is this…" and he paused to consider what she had said. "It is our duty to intervene, unlike Sarah Jane who will stop at nothing to involve herself and others in danger and chaos. It is what has led to our meeting like this. It is because of your intervention that we have had multiple invasions!"

"That's just not so!" yelled Luke. "We do our best to see to it that we give all alien life forms a chance!"

"No…" said Mitchell. "You're meddlers in what you do not understand!"

"So what would you like answers to?" she asked.

She saw the officer's shift slightly. She started to wonder why.

"In your absence from this great establishment," said Mitchell. "We have discovered something of an unusual occurrence concerning you and these children!"

"Hey…" cried Clyde. "We're not children!"

"What do you mean?" shouted Luke.

He made an effort to escape his captor but it was no use.

"We would like to know of how you have secured access to the stars!"

Mitchell scowled at Sarah and her friends.

"Who are you looking at!" yelled Clyde.

"I'd like to know your connections!" declared Mitchell.

"Well of course she knows the Doctor," explained Clyde. "She travelled with him for a while!"

Mitchell was irritated by Clyde's constant outbursts.

"Yes…that's so," replied Sarah. "The Doctor and I go way back!"

"And it is how you have access to the latest technological advances, no less," said the soldier. "I thought as much!"

"So that's why you destroyed my life's work?" she shrieked. "…so I'd lose all my contacts and information to benefit UNIT, just so you could remain the supreme intelligence agency!" She was angered by his response.

"That is correct," said Miller. "We cannot have a civilian having access to secret files, never mind who she is and if she is known to the Time Lord."

_"So you'd go so far as to assassinate us?"_ she muttered. _"No… there's something amiss!"_

Sarah was sure she was missing something.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>A Unit officer carefully lowered the device under Sarah's car and primed the device. He walked away and alerted Mitchell all was ready.<p>

Unit's secret was out. It had all become clear, yet something was still not right and from Mitchell's expression, things were about to unravel in more ways than one.

He gave the go-ahead for his prisoners to be released, and instead of running for their lives, neither budged at all.

"You're free to go!" he insisted. "You're no longer a threat."

"That's it?" muttered Sarah. "You destroy our home, ruin our lives, and interfere all the way to set us free?"

"Yes," said Mitchell. "As I said, - you no longer pose a threat!"

Sarah didn't understand. Neither did her friends.

"So not only have you aroused suspicion of my activities but most likely put an end to my work altogether!" she declared.

"As was our intention," said Mitchell. "It was your practices in protecting the Earth that have brought us down on you!"

"So tell me," said Sarah. "How did you know what we were up to? How did you find out?"

"We have our sources," said Mitchell.

"Yes, of course," replied Sarah. "But the bomb and everything, - could have just been a spur of the moment thing?"

"Possibly," agreed Mitchell. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you see," said Sarah. "I doubt the explanation you've given us. I doubt your motives and intentions. I believe you really meant to kill us… or at best my friends, given we were out but nonetheless," she continued. "I think you granting us permission to leave here is all false. You've probably jammed the wheel of my car; fit a tracker or a bomb underneath. You do want us dead so why deny it?"

"Because the truth hurts," said Mitchell as he revealed his true identity. A slippery, slimy Slitheen emerged from the skin suit of Mitchell. The Unit officer was dead and in his place was a monster, using his flesh, his intelligence.

"I knew it!" said Clyde. "You can't shop in town for risk of bumping into a Slitheen!"

"So want do you want from us this time?" demanded Rani.

"Oh come on," said Sarah. "Mitchell clearly wants to kill is! After all… it's what he has been up to all this time!"

Mitchell chuckled with delight.

"But don't you see?" he said, gurgling at his genius. "As a UNIT official, I can do with you what I like. I have the power to destroy you!"

"So if we had left here and returned home you'd have still come looking?" wondered Sarah. "Didn't I say there was something wrong?" she reminded them. "But if you think you can manipulate us for your own gain," she went on. "… then think again because we're not going to let you stand in our way!"

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>"This is what we have been waiting for Ms Smith," the Slitheen sneered. "We have been eager to have you eliminated."<p>

"But why go to the trouble of infiltrating Unit to have us executed?" demanded Sarah.

"It was necessary," insisted Mitchell. "It has been for so long now!"

"What do you mean?" asked Rani, the investigative journalist in her rising to the surface. "Since the last we encountered you?"

"Yes," said Mitchell. "Since the last we encountered you, we were working for Unit then but you thought you had defeated us…"

"You're right," replied Sarah. "But what I would like to know is how you're so sure we came to the decision we had defeated you?"

"We planted the bomb," answered the Slitheen. "Of course we also had your home bugged, and your car and their school," Mitchell informed them. "It was necessary."

"But there's something else altogether," said Clyde, "… otherwise why would eliminating us and you joining the ranks in Unit be connected?"

"Be silent!" hissed the Slitheen.

"No hold on, Clyde has a point," said Sarah. "You're up to something and it involves the likes of Unit!"

"But you're not going to live long enough to find out what it is," Mitchell informed them.

"But you're waiting a while to have us 'eliminated' so there must be a reason you're giving us time to talk?"

The Slitheen whispered among themselves looking to their leader for an answer. Mitchell was tight lipped and unable to explain.

"That's right," said Luke. "If you had wanted us dead all along, why wait all this time?"

"To buy time…" said Mitchell.

He turned to the group of Slitheen and mouthed how sorry he was for the delay.

"What do you mean?" asked Rani.

She saw the Slitheen had given in to their questioning of their actions and how Mitchell had come clean about why they were not yet dead.

"We were ordered to eliminate you on the orders of the Slitheen who perished at your hands, but we failed to do so in the detonation of the bomb and then in our second attempt and our third…"

"So what's to stop you now?" murmured Sarah.

She didn't like to encourage the Slitheen but it seemed a fairly obvious response as to why they were still alive.

"We encountered another alien threat that so wishes to wipe us out as well as humanity," answered Mitchell.

Sarah had her suspicions.

"…and tell me," she said, taking what Mitchell had said in. "Was this new threat identified before you involved yourselves with UNIT?"

The Slitheen nodded.

"So you thought you could rival those who so wished you and I dead in becoming this worlds guardians, the protectors of the Human Race?"

"That is so," confessed Mitchell. "But there is more…"

"Yes… go on," barked Sarah. "I knew this was so, right from the start!"

"We now wish to offer you a choice," said the Slitheen. "Help us to defeat our enemies…or suffer under the rule of those who wish to destroy us all!"

"And what about the Slitheen?" cut in Clyde. "It was all about you a moment ago! Aren't you at all interested in wanting us dead?"

"Why should we when there are others who are more powerful than us and are able to wipe us out as well you?"

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>"So all this time…" said Sarah, the anger rising in her tone of voice. "…you've had us believe you were out to kill us when really you wanted our help?"<p>

"Do not make any mistake Ms Smith!" a Slitheen cut in. "Of course we had hoped to carry out our orders…"

"Which involved having us _'eliminated'_," said Luke.

"But what turned it all around for you?" wondered Clyde. "…finding out these bad boys were bigger than you or what?" he joked.

The Slitheen sent a growl in his direction.

"So you want our help?" suggested Sarah. "Who are we up against?"

There was a short pause.

"The Bane!" said one, crossing through the group towards its superior.

"The Bane?" replied Sarah. "What have you done to upset them?"

The Slitheen turned their heads in astonishment.

"You know of the Bane?" asked another. "How can this be so?"

Luke stepped forward.

"The Bane made me!" he declared.

The Slitheen all chuckled at once.

"That is impossible," they said afterwards. "You are a humanoid life form!"

"…and I have no belly button!" stated Luke.

"That's correct," said Sarah. "Where are the Bane now?"

"They are in orbit!" said Mitchell. "They will soon be here and Unit have made preparations!"

"You mean since UNIT was taken over, you've been working on a way of stopping the Bane?" questioned Rani.

"That is correct."

"And how sure are you the Bane intends to invade?" spat Luke.

"The Bane have made contact with us on numerous occasions," explained Mitchell. "They are aware of our infiltration and will stop at nothing to destroy us all!"

"Can we trust you?" asked Sarah. "To work alongside you in defeating the Bane?"

"We give you our word!" insisted the Slitheen.

"Your word may not be enough!" she declared.

"…and what about when this is all over?" she reminded them. "How can we be certain we will have no trouble from you?"

The Slitheen were dead quiet.

Sarah turned to her young friends and had a quiet discussion with them.

"We must press you for an answer!" urged Mitchell.

"We accept!" agreed Sarah.

Luke, Rani, and Clyde were worried.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p><em>The Bane were indeed on their way. They were coming and while they suspected the involvement of the Slitheen, they knew not of the involvement of their old adversary, Ms Sarah Jane Smith and her young friends.<em>

"Battle Stations!" ordered Mitchell, leading the way.

Sarah and the gang followed on and were led from the office into the grounds of Unit Headquarters. Outside were various rocket pads and launch sites. The Slitheen had not bothered changing and lumbered into the grounds as the Slitheen they were.

As Sarah appeared from the metal shell of the building first, she encountered some men standing guard and as they saluted Ms Smith and her young friends, they soon realised she was being held by alien invaders of some nasty description.

"Down Ms Smith!" they ordered, as they lowered their guns and fired on the Slitheen.

"No… you don't understand!" she warned them but they hadn't heard and while she and the others ducked for cover, the real unit officers fired on the intruders. The Slitheen tumbled from the platform that led out from the buildings and down the stairs into the grounds.

Some lashed out and tried to escape, pleading with Sarah to make a stand but she too was pleased there had been some intervention.

The Slitheen had been defeated but there was an invasion yet to thwart. Sarah recognised Officer Cartwright. She crossed across the grounds, treading carefully over the bodies and discussed their situation with the officer.

"Thank you!" she said first. "The Slitheen had agreed to help us but they had hoped to kill us!"

"Then it's a good thing we arrived when we did," said the officer. "Geneva reported Ealing branch had not been in touch and so sent us along to investigate!"

"But there's something else," said Clyde. "The Slitheen said something about the Bane invading!"

"Who or what are the Bane?" replied the officer.

"A rather nasty bunch of alien invaders!" explained Sarah.

"And where are they now?" demanded Cartwright.

"They're on their way," said Rani. "…or so said the Slitheen!"

"Then we must do something!" said the officer. "My men are standing by!"

"Good!" said Sarah. "Perhaps we can warn the Bane off before they reach the Earth?" she wondered.

"I could call on the assistance of the RAF, have them meet the Bane half way, and escort them back to space?"

"Not quite practical," frowned Rani.

"Oh you'd be surprised," replied the officer. "We sent world war two aircraft into space!"

"So what are we waiting for?" moaned Clyde. "Let's get a move on! The Bane will be here soon!"

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Officer Cartwright made his way into the building, flanked by two of his men. The rest gathered about the launch pads and prepared to do battle.<p>

"You see," said Sarah, turning to her friends. "…so keen to do battle!" she muttered. She shook her head. "…and this is why we do things ourselves!"

"Is it wise to involve ourselves with these people?" asked Luke. "After all… you've said all along they're a bad influence!"

"Well," said Sarah, "…right now, they're our only hope… and usually I'd say no, but with no home, no Mr Smith, we're on our own!"

Officer Cartwright returned from the building. He was filled with glee. He ran across the grounds towards Sarah and the gang. She smiled and welcomed his report.

"The RAF say they cannot intervene however we have the ammunition to blow the Bane out of the sky!" declared the officer.

"NO!" said Sarah. "This I cannot allow to go ahead!"

"Mum's right!" insisted Luke. "If you do this, you're no better that the Bane themselves!"

The officer shook his head.

"I do not understand!" he replied. "You said the Bane had the intention to invade, therefore would it not be a wise move to step in and eliminate the threat?"

"If mum warns against it, I shouldn't think so!" Luke persisted.

The officer turned to his men and gave the order.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But we must act fast to save the Earth. There have been too many mistakes made over the last few months, much down to the interference of the Slitheen, and the Ministry of Defence have acknowledged that this is so and wants things put right!"

Officer Cartwright bowed his head in shame. He was only obeying orders yet Sarah was confused. Was this a good move after all?

She and the others were led into a small bunker in the grounds. From there, they watched as Cartwright called on his men to take up positions on the rocket pads. Soldiers ran up and down the length of the grounds.

When all was ready, Cartwright returned to the bunker. From there he controlled the missiles and gave his men orders. The bunker was quite sophisticated, with all the latest technology surrounding him and the others.

He looked to Ms Smith for some kind of response.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm just following orders. I have heard that you're not one for this kind of thing…"

Sarah didn't quite know what to say.

Cartwright turned his attention to the controls. He held in his hand a key and gave a sharp look up.

"On my count then," he said, plugging the key in position. "10… 9… 8…"

And as the countdown had begun, Sarah looked out at the men behind the firing switches and she was worried this was a mistake.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Rani and Clyde made a plea with Cartwright to stop the countdown before it was too late, while Luke comforted his mum, pulling her closer to him.<p>

"Everything will be alright mum," he said, with some confidence.

"I love you," she said, in response.

The officer stood watching, waiting, adjusting the key ever so slightly, and his hands shaking. He was almost ready to launch.

"You can't do this!" shrieked Rani. "Who knows what will happen!"

The officer shrugged and answered, "I'm sorry but I have my orders."

The call out of how long there was to go fell silent. Cartwright hesitated. He looked up, twisting the key sharply. "Fire!" he ordered.

The men behind the rocket pads released their missiles and they blasted off towards their target. In the bunker, they monitored them on silver screens, watching, waiting for a result. Meanwhile, the Bane monitored the Earth below.

"We're no longer receiving alien activity on the planet Earth," said a creature crossing the path of its leader. "The Slitheen have been defeated!" it whimpered.

"Why so afraid?" hissed another. "We will soon wipe the humans out!"

The other glared at its associate. Suddenly he returned to the controls.

"Leader… we have something on radar, heading this way?"

It was the missiles.

Cartwright edged closer towards the controls. The screen gave them access to what was going on and where the missiles were. On the screen was a ship the missiles were approaching. The Bane were a sitting target.

"No!" raged Sarah. She rushed forward, slammed down hard on the controls, but it was no good. Still the missiles approached their target, and in an instant… the ship was blown apart. There was a massive explosion.

Sarah looked away from the screen. She and the others were stunned. The Bane had been defeated and the Earth was safe.

"It's over," said Officer Cartwright, as he switched the monitors off. He looked up at his men outside and smiled.

Speaking to them over his communicator, he gave his report and congratulated them. Sarah and her friends had the freedom to leave but there was nothing to return to. It was in some ways the beginning of the end. Sarah and Luke would have to start again leaving their friends behind them. It was a sad day for all of them.

Cartwright arranged a car to drive Clyde and Rani home while Luke and Sarah discussed the possibility of new accommodation. As Luke made his farewells, he embraced those closest to him and waved them off. Two support officers led them away into a waiting car, and Luke watched as they were driven away while waiting for his mum.

"Thank you," said Sarah, after speaking with Cartwright. "How very kind of you!" she continued.

"What is it mum?" asked Luke as he wandered over to her. She turned to him and smiled.

"We've been offered a home in London," she said. "Not too far away from here, and there's a railway service for you too catch up with Clyde and Rani," she added, although she sensed Luke was not pleased with her choice of location.

"Why so far away?" he groaned.

"Because our neighbours in Bannerman Road will begin to wonder why we of all people were targeted in the first place, and furthermore…" she said, as she said goodbye to Cartwright, striding from the building into the grounds. "We will have the opportunity to begin again, a new start…"

Luke wasn't pleased but he accepted his mum's wishes.

"Alright," he agreed.

Sarah put an arm around her son and took a walk home.

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

_Sarah Jane Adventures: _

_Deliverance_

By Nathan Mullins

* * *

><p>Their walk home was refreshing. Their day had been exhausting. All Sarah had in mind was retrieving her life's work and moving out. The neighbours were out in force and the police were guarding the house. Sarah passed them by and entered her home for the last time. From across the road, Rani appeared. She smiled at Luke and he joined her.<p>

"So what's going on?" she asked him.

"We're moving out," said Luke.

"Where to?" she demanded.

"London," he said. "Mum's decision, not mine," he added. "We can't move back in," he said, glaring at his home. "Instead, UNIT have offered mum some temporary accommodation and she kindly accepted their offer."

"Good luck!" she replied.

"But we can still do this!" stated Luke. "We can still meet up from time to time and save the Earth from alien threats! It'll just mean catching a train to and from London. We can do some sightseeing too!"

Rani chuckled at the thought of their adventures continued, and the boy from Ealing's adventure to the city of London. Clyde emerged and wished his friends well, and asked Luke what he was up to. Luke informed him of their hopeful move to London, and they all gave a dissatisfied sigh.

Sarah investigated the shell of her home. It was in ruins. She held back the tears and the pain she still felt and relaxed a little. When Luke, Clyde, and Rani joined her, they surveyed their once recognisable surroundings.

"Just think…" said Rani. "We used to defend the Earth from this attic!"

Sarah smiled.

"Yes we did," she said. "I'm going to miss it!"

K9 trundled into view.

"Ah yes," she said, looking up to find Clyde petting the small robot dog. "I'm leaving k9 with you Clyde, seeing as you get on so well together!"

Clyde jumped up and hugged his friends.

"And this is yours Rani," said Sarah, pulling out her sonic lipstick. "For emergencies of course!" she concluded.

It was a while until all was packed and they were ready to be off.

"We're going to miss you, Sarah Jane!" said Clyde, with K9 in his hands. Rani smiled and watched as they departed.

Together, they waved them off from beyond 13 Bannerman Road, the sunshine beaming down upon them as they made their final farewells.

Their cab to London honked the horn and they were finally on route to London. Luke waved to his friends from the back of the cab until they turned a corner, and it was then that he realised he was leaving Bannerman Road for good.


End file.
